The series of frustrating defeats for the Chivas USA continued at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.
After a barnstorming first half display that saw Chivas USA have most of the run of play only to go into halftime equal, the visitors gave up two second-half goals to Shalrie Joseph (53rd minute) and Taylor Twellman (86th minute) on its way to a 3-1 loss.
For Chivas USA head coach Bob Bradley, it was more of the same: good effort, good play and no points to show for it.
"Sometimes, when the game is on the line, you have to make a play," Bradley said. "We have to have more confidence and more guts."
"We got what we needed with the early goal," forward Ante Razov said. "We gave up a bad goal to go in tied, but we came in all right. In the second half, I thought we started decently. We just didn't get the second goal."
Razov praised the clinical finishing for the home side.
"They had three good chances and they scored three goals," Razov said.
Said Bradley: "They made a couple of plays [in the second half]. Jay Heaps hit a great cross and Shalrie Joseph made a play. Taylor Twellman made a goal out of nothing."
One bright spot for Bradley's side was the play of Francisco Mendoza. The lithe left winger created constant trouble down the flank and chipped in with a goal from a Razov pass in the 19th minute.
"It's good to see him get a goal," Bradley said. "It should help us going forward. He's a young player and he needs to keep progressing."
Progress is the operative word for Bradley as his side continues to show well without having anything to show for it. In the end, Bradley boiled it down to a simple sentence to explain the troubles.
"We have to learn how to win," he said.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
